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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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THE SCHOOL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Under the provisions of the regulations for the degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
on Friday, June 15, 2018
2:00 PM
in MoSE 3201A
will be held the
DISSERTATION DEFENSE
for
Ruilong Ma
"Micro-Patterned Chemistry and Structure in Layered Carbon Nanocomposites"
Committee Members:
Dr. Vladimir V. Tsukruk, Advisor, MSE
Dr. Meisha L. Shofner, MSE
Dr. Paul S. Russo, MSE
Dr. Andrei G. Fedorov, ME
Dr. Yulin Deng, ChBE
Abstract:
The quest for humankind’s increased capabilities in gathering information, analyzing data, and controlling our surrounding environment is leading to a proliferation of connected physical objects that can sense, compute, and communicate. Conventional classes of electronic materials such as metals and semiconductors cannot meet this new demand alone due to challenges in scale, and ability to function in new use-environments such as on clothing, on skin, and in the human body.
In this research, 1D biopolymers (silk fibroin, cellulose nanocrystals) and 2D synthetic components (functionalized graphenes) are assembled into bio-derived nanocomposite papers. Through post-processing conversion of geometry and surface chemistry at the microscale, these biopapers are transformed into a platform for flexible and stretchable electronics for diverse applications including stretchable wiring, energy harvesting, energy storage, and haptic sensing. The key to realizing these applications is leveraging the intrinsic properties of nanoscale components through the controlled, localized application of annealing, cutting, printing and stenciling. Elements of directed microstructural design include patterned voids to generate algorithmic pop-up deformations, partial cuts to inhibit metastable buckling, conductive traces to enable sensory circuits, and interdigitated electrodes to support double layer capacitance. The set of techniques and the structure-property relations explored in this work can serve as a framework for understanding microstructural manipulation that is generalized across layered nanocomposites.
